Run-DMC’s Self-Titled Debut: A 30th Anniversary Retrospective

Run-DMC was partly responsible for introducing rap music to a brand new audience thus they often were the go-to guys whenever anything rap or Hip-Hop culture related came up. Their style of dress was iconic (and an extension of Jam Master Jay’s personal style), the way they went back and forth harkened back to the Old School Era but the ferocity and power of their bars changed the way subsequent MC’s delivered their rhymes. Their live show with Jam Master Jay set the precedent for how future rap groups had to command a stage. In short, without Run-DMC’s debut album you wouldn’t be reading articles on a website called Hip-Hop Wired 30 years later.

Salute to the Kings From Queens, may they reign eternally. Rest In Peace, Jason “Jam Master Jay” Mizell.